Olive's P.O.V.
"I'm sorry, Rose. I wasn't being careful. My mind was a million miles away, and I just wanted to get home to you." His good hand began to rub my arm as he spoke.
"You don't have anything to be sorry about. You didn't do anything wrong." I shook my head at him.
"But I did."
His words made me pause, stopping my movements, and my heart.
"What do you mean?"
"I went and saw your dad with Davis and Carter." He admitted. I sat up as best I could looking down at his wounded state. I couldn't be mad even if I wanted to be now. "I wanted him to leave so I offered to buy his silence, and make him leave without seeing you." He continued, making me upset at the fact that he tried to offer my dad money.
"Keep going," I said, knowing there was probably more.
"He came to town to tell you that he's having a baby with his girlfriend." He sighed.
Dad is having another kid?
I shook my head hysterically. This can't be happening!
He can't have another kid. He can't!
"Rose, that baby won't be due for a while and you're so close to finishing college. I know you're going to want to go back home, and help care for the baby -that isn't yours- but you need to remember how much you put up with in high school to get here. Remember how much work you've done while here. Don't go back, at least not until you graduate. Please Olive! Don't go." He squeezed my hand, staring up at me like I could hurt him further with my answer.
"When is the baby due?"
"End of April. So that is just 3 weeks without you there to help. Then we can rush to New Hampshire and help from there."
"We?" I didn't miss the fact that he was offering to come with me.
My mind was still reeling from the news trying to determine my best course of action. If I were only thinking about myself then the choice would be obvious, but this involves more than just my life. This involves the life of an innocent child. I want to say that they will be okay, but I know Dad. What if he beats his girlfriend while she's pregnant and ends up killing his unborn child. I have no idea how he was with mom when she was pregnant with me. I am not sure when he even started to hit her really.
"Of course, we, Rose. I told you, I'm never letting you go again. If you need to move back to New Hampshire to help l, then I'm moving with you," he said so matter-of-factly that it caught me off guard.
He'd move states with me...for me. I felt my eyes tearing up, overwhelmed by all the emotions I was feeling. I thought of how I could have lost him today and the waterworks started to flow. He's everything to me already, and it's scary how fast my life now revolves around him. I leaned forward carefully, trying not to hurt him, and kissed him gently. Yes, I was mad that he tried to offer money to my dad to make him leave. I was more upset that he had planned to keep this baby a secret from me, but I still love him. In the end, he did the right thing, so I can't exactly be too upset with him.
"I love you so much, Lucas." I whispered to him as I pulled away from our kiss.
"I love you, too. So very much, Rose."
"Don't ever try to keep something like this from me again, and definitely never use your money to try to make a problem go away like that," I lightly scolded him.
"Yes, sir," he joked, but when he looked down into my eyes he got serious. "I won't, Rose. I promise."
I nodded my head, content with his promise before I closed my eyes and continued to focus on the beat of his heart. The heart that keeps my knight alive. The heart that stole my own. I don't ever want to lose him. Not ever. I'll stay by his side for as long as he'll have me. I will fight for us, and like all my fights, I'm determined to win. Our relationship will flourish, I will make sure of it.
"I can't lose you, Lucas. Please, be more careful," I whispered into the air.
"You won't lose me, Rose. I don't plan on letting you go any time soon. That includes dying."
He wrapped his good arm around me, holding me tight against him. He kissed my forehead as he squeezed my arm. I could feel the tenderness of his actions. He loves me too, and I hope it's just as much as I love him. I bit my cheek as I thought back on the words that Hailey spoke to me this afternoon. I won't know if I don't ask. He won't know if I don't tell.
"Lucas?"
He hummed in response. He was tired I could hear it.
"I want to tell you something, but I'm worried it will freak you out. I don't want to scare you away, but I also want you to know how I feel. I don't expect that you feel the same way. I will patiently wait until you do if that's the case."
I paused for a moment waiting for him to respond, but he didn't. I looked up to find him peacefully sleeping. His face was relaxed, showing me a side to him I had not seen often. I'm usually the first to fall asleep, but not always the first to wake. I could count the times that I've seen Lucas asleep in one hand. I smiled as I looked at him, happy to see he was getting some rest. What I was about to tell him can wait for another day.
I carefully slid my phone out of my pocket and shot Leo a text. I told him to go ahead and leave. I'll stay here tonight with him, because there's no way I can leave his side. I let myself fall asleep beside him. It was a tight squeeze, and a bit uncomfortable, but there's nowhere else I would rather be.
I was woken up by a nurse in the middle of the night, and asked to move to a little cot. They were worried about me hurting his arm, and they needed easy access to him. I hated to leave the warmth of his embrace, but I did as they asked.
"You stayed with me, Rose?" His hoarse voice woke me easily in the silence of the room.
I peeked at him through my lashes, giving him a small smile. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, stretching my body to try to wake myself better.
"Of course. I didn't want to leave you here alone," I answered him.
"Thank you," he said, giving me that delicious smirk of his. The one that made my heart soar and my core dampen.
"How are you feeling?"
"Sore, very very sore."
"I'm sorry. I'll get a nurse and see if they can give you anything."
"Don't bother. I don't want you to leave." He shook his head lightly.
"Don't be silly. You're in pain, it'll only be a second." I got off the cot, heading towards the door.
"A second too long." I heard him whisper as I left.
I found the nurse, and she said she'd be down soon to take him back to surgery. They'll be fixing his arm today. Thinking of him in surgery made me nervous even though the chances of anything bad happening were slim.
When I returned to the room, Lucas seemed almost upset. He patted the bed beside him again.
"We need to talk," he said, making me all kinds of nervous.